One Wish
by onototellingoyou
Summary: A girl from our own world, fallen into the Naruto world. A girl who screwed up her life is getting a second chance at a new life...and love. NejixOC
1. Dream Fortune

Disclaimer: No own Naruto.

LotusEmpress: I made some changes from the original draft. This is, to those who don't know, a Neji/OC story, but before some of you run away screaming, I request that you read my first five chapters because they're gonna give the reader a good idea of my character's personality at the beginning of the story. So…

Onwards! (P.S. To those who have read this story before. I recommend that you at least re-read chapters 2 and 3. *Thumbs up!*)

* * *

_**One Wish: Dream Fortune**_

Drip.

"_Where am I?"_

Drip.

"_Do you know?"_

Drip.

Nothing else surrounds me but the walls of perpetual blackness compressing me, trapping me in. A refuge meant for imprisonment. Oxymoron it may be, but it's the truth.

Drip.

I haven't always been like this, a bird caged in the realm of perpetual blackness. I was once wild and free…

Drip.

"_What's that sound? Do you know what it is?"_

Drip.

I have become totally dependent on the darkness. I was never like this back then…

Drip.

…back then I depended on everyone ELSE around me, not something as abstract as the dark.

Drip.

I had hated the dark, loathed it. I was just another one of the millions of spoiled little princesses in the world who was afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep without her mommy or daddy by her side.

I think I still am.

Drip.

Pathetic, disgusting – I know, I know, but that was then.

This is now…

Drip.

…and now forever shall be.

"_Ow!"_

Drip.

Golden warmth shines through the darkness. It's alien to me, though it feels so familiar…yet another oxymoron.

Drip.

"_What is it? What is it?"_

Something rumbles through the inky blackness, an echo that sends shockwaves throughout my entire body, terrifying me to no end. A monster's animalistic growl resounds…

Drip.

…and, on cue, everything around me dissolved, seemed to disappear as if it had never existed. In place of the walls of nothing were walls of stone. These walls didn't surround me on all sides though, just two that continued on either side of me like the walls of a corridor. I remember back then this kind of place had a name. What did they call it? Oh yeah! A "cave."

Drip.

The golden warmth shined brightly here, or rather, the "_light"_shined brightly here. Yeah, I still remember its name. I learned it listening to the whispers of the dark. They had said it resonated from a star of life that gave off the thing in warm, golden rays, yet the whispers had been harsh, speaking of the light like it was a horrible, cruel thing. I found it sounded so sweet, like paradise.

The myth breathes…

Drip.

Light caressed the moon's skin – skin like ivory, like snow, like _death_. Dulled gray-blue eyes tiredly took in their surroundings. Rose lips, bloody lips curve into a frown.

Drip.

Pools of liquid – excuse me – "_water"_ dotted the floor of the cave. Stalagmites decorated the ground, mirroring the numerous stalactites decorating the ceiling. One particular stalactite, this one made of crystal instead of stone, stood above a particularpool.

This particular pool was _coincidently_ the center of all the other pools just as _coincidently_ as the light seemed to hit that particular pool in a way that made it look as if the golden light was dancing upon the water's surface.

Drip.

And it so happened that the ceiling had a few small cracks that were near the one particular stalactite. Water consistently dribbled from the cracks to then slide down the one particular stalactite in mockery of our tears. Soon the droplets would reach the end of the one particular stalactite and hang there for a split second before plunging to the pool below, resulting in small ripples at contact. Each time it would make a sound like…

Drip.

…yeah, like that.

Drip.

Rose lips curve into a smile; tired eyes droop in relief – finally a place to rest.

Drip.

Mesmerized by the beauty of my new sanctuary, I walk closer to the pool. The ray of light shone only on it, dazzling the other pools with merely a glance of its golden gaze.

I started to wonder, _"How long have I been trapped in the darkness?"_

Drip.

I did not have the faintest clue. My best guess though would be about…forever.

Drip.

Amongst the chaos of the swirling thoughts of my mind, a new question surfaced, or maybe it was more of a hunch.

Drip.

"_Is there some sort of deeper meaning to all this? Is there a reason that I was brought here?"_

A strange thought, I know. Not many people would think of such things and even I did not know where I had drummed up such an idea, but hey…

Drip.

…I'm different from other people.

Drip.

Way different.

Drip.

Dulled gray-blue eyes stare hard at the pool in front of me, watching each drop of water fall, watching the consequential ripples shimmer in the divined luminescence, watching_everything_ that occurred to the body in front of me.

And after a few minutes of dulled gray-blue eyes staring hard at the pool in front of me, it hit me…

Drip.

The pools symbolized lives of people; the center pool symbolized _a_life. The light shining upon the center pool embodied recognition while the water droplets that fell into the pool in front of me were the very essence of change.

So much change…

Drip.

I don't know how I had come up with those answers, but they made the inside of my stomach churn. They made my chest tighten. They made the dulled gray-blue eyes cry the previously mocked tears. They made rose lips, bloody lips frown, pearl teeth clench tightly.

Drip.

Envy, anger, despair, pain, loneliness, hopelessness, loss, the all-around sense of injustice – it all hurt so badly.

Drip.

"_What life is so important," _a deep breath to calm me down,_ "that they have such freedom and privilege as this?"_

Drip.

"_Oh no, it's not me."_

Drip.

"_I'm nothing. No one cares about me. I'm trash."_

Drip.

"_I'm all…alone."_

Everything around me shattered like a mirror thrown upon the ground and all fell into that depthless chasm which gorged itself on an omniscient darkness.

_Everything_.

Indeed. All was swallowed by the abyss, even the light disappeared for good, I'm sure of it. The only remanence of that world was the sound of the water drops falling into the pool, and that was already fading away. Fast.

"_Perhaps it never disappeared."_

Drip.

"_These walls of nothing are the walls of normalcy isolating me from a world of wonder and light. A peaceful, warm world of rest and, dare I say it, love"'_

Really, I'm not alone. How many teens feel as if they are pulled down, that they're nothing, just another face in the crowd? And just how many lovesick girls are waiting for their movie star superhero to come and sweep them off their feet or for their fantasy prince to come and take them upon their white steed so as to whisk his "princess" off into the sunset?

Drip.

I'll tell you all of them. One hundred percent, and that hundred includes me. I know that.

Drip.

I'm not truly alone and I know that, but that's just it. That's what makes me different. Do you get what I'm saying? It's quite simple, really, if you think about it…

Drip.

It's because I know I'm not alone that makes me alone. It's because I know there are people out there who can understand my problems that make people unable to understand what I'm going through. It is the knowledge that makes me different from all the people around me.

It is an understanding of my circumstances that landed me her, that makes me hated, worthless, weak, and broken.

Drip.

"_I'll never be free…"_

"_**How right you are my dear."**_

0000000000000000000

"Rachel! Wake up!"

"Ugh…"

"It's seven o'clock, Rachel," my mother yelled from the kitchen, "If you don't hurry you'll be late for school again."

"_Aw crud."_

School.

0000000000000000000

No worries. I'm doing my _bestest _to make sure Rachel does not become a Mary Sue.


	2. Voice Stuck in the Head

Disclaimer: No own Naruto. He and his friends belong to some Japanese guy.

LotusEmpress: Any of you who read my story before will notice I did a "little" editing.

Oh, and make sure to tell your friends about my story, I really need people reading my story. Then again, it would be more fun to hunt you down…

Onwards!

* * *

"_Rachel! Wake up!"_

"_Ugh…"_

"_It's seven o'clock, Rachel," my mother yelled at me from the kitchen, "If you don't hurry you'll be late for school_ again_."_

"_Aw crud."_

_School._

* * *

_**One Wish: Voice Stuck In the Head**_

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

"Alright, alright, I'm up, I'm getting up."

Jeez, I hate parental alarm clocks. They're so annoying. But at least they don't scare me awake like those regular alarm clocks. Ugh. Really, really hate those.

* * *

Am I really just a normal girl in the world we call today? I guess in some ways, yes. Yes I am, but in all the wrong ways. Am I a sore thumb that sticks out in the crowd as a unique and upcoming person who just might have some good things coming her way? Yeah, I am, minus the last part. I'm unique alright, but again in all the wrong ways.

What do I have going for me? I'm not one of those girls who just attract the weird and freakish to them like a giant magnet as if it's just natural. Ok, I am one of them, but I don' attract the kind of awesomely cool, magical, fighting kind of weird, freakish things. More like the normal weird, freakish things that aren't…cool.

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

So what _does_ that make me? An outcast, what else?

* * *

I groaned, forcing myself up out of bed to slump on the edge of it, my legs dangling and my toes scraping the carpet of my bedroom.

I stretched before making any attempt to rub the sleep out of my eyes. It's harder to wake up than what adults are always telling you, whether you go to bed early or not.

But that could be just because I'm an insomniac.

After a good few minutes, I slowly got up, shuffled over to my black dresser in the corner of my room, and began to ransack the drawers.

"Hurry up, Rachel!"

"I'm hurrying!"

But I really wasn't, as one could have probably guessed already. I searched through the piles of unkempt clothes spilling from my drawers, causing them to bulge with the ungodly amount that were not neatly folded as they should've been. It'd probably be easier for me if I did that. I will, of course!

…Later on.

Finally, I found what I was looking for. I pushed aside the articles of clothes in my way and pulled out a pair of dark wash jeans.

"_Yes!" _I silently cheered in my mind. Yippee.

I looked to my left at the new pile of clothes that I had heaped onto the floor and then back at the nearly empty drawer.

"_Where the hell is it?"_

My favorite black shirt, I wore it whenever I could.

What's so special about this shirt? Well, it isn't just any shirt. It's a Naruto shirt that I got at Hot Topic and it had my favorite character on it. Who is this character, one may ask?

Neji. Neji Hyuuga.

The shirt depicted him in his '8 Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms' technique. It was the coolest Neji shirt Hot Topic had in stock.

Once more, I embarked on my quest to sort through "Rachel's-laundry-that-should-be-folded-and-piled-into-neat-stacks-but-not-until-later-on". I found two socks, a pair of black skater shoes, my signature school jacket, and a gray sports bra before I finally found it at the very bottom of everything and its mother.

A glance at the digital clock atop the nightstand at my bedside elicited a cursed from yours _truly_. 7:12: that didn't give me much time. Gathering all the clothes into my arms, I rushed out of the room and into the bathroom across the hall that I and my grandma shared.

Once I got in there, I closed the door and began to undress, following my usual morning routine – brush my teeth, comb my hair, etc. – and then gingerly slipped on the rough fabric of my hastily arranged outfit.

It was then that I got a good look at my self in the mirror. My reflection's blue eyes stared tiredly back at me as my long hair hung limp, poorly framing my freckled face. I grimaced.

I was ugly. Completely ugly, and braces didn't help either.

"_Just another crappy day," _I grumbled to myself silently as I weaved my hair into a long single braid, wrapping the hair tie around the end three times before stalking out of the bathroom.It was 7:18 by then.

"_**Hush! It's a new morning God created for you! You ought to be grateful."**_

I was already in the middle of the hallway that separated the kitchen from the family room when I heard it – a distinctly female voice speaking close to my ear. I stopped in my tracks, blinking multiple times.

"_Wha-what the hell was that!?"_

"_**Me."**_

My eyes were nearly popping out of my head. I couldn't believe the voice had just answered me!

"_Who the hell are you!? Who the hell is me!?"_

"_**Well, I am you and you are me."**_ It answered.

"That doesn't even remotely make sense!" I said incredulously, unaware that I had just spoken my thoughts aloud.

"_**It makes perfect sense."**_

Oh gosh, I was really off my rocker.

"What doesn't make sense?" my mother asked, startling me.

I felt a familiar pang in my chest because of her, because of that confused stare. Was that a look of hate that flashed in her eyes? Is her confusion really an icy blizzard of disgust toward me?

"Nothing!" I spat, "It's none of your business; anyways, I was just talking to myself!"

"_It's not like you care."_

* * *

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

Who cares for a girl like me?

When I've worked so hard to change and all I can think about is catching up to the ones I love…

…the world keeps spinning along without me…

…and I'm left in the dust to do the catching up.

Who in the world cares for a girl like me?

And when I finally start to catch up…

…the world speeds up ahead of me…

…because…

…who the hell wants to be stuck with a girl like me?

_Damn_.

* * *

"Alright," she said, seeming satisfied with my answer and handed me my breakfast plate. On it was an apple, and a glass of milk teetered beside the red ovary. "You had better eat fast!"

I felt taken aback though.

Wasn't she going to ask more than just "What doesn't make sense?" Didn't she care a little more than that? But I didn't say anything, not wanting to cause her trouble or make her look weirdly at me. I hated not standing up for myself. In fact, it killed me, but if life was fair, the former inference would become a literal statement.

Anyway, it was already 7:26, and the first bell rang at 7:50. If we didn't leave soon, I was going to be late again, like yesterday.

For a moment, I wondered what made her waste a paper plate on an apple before brushing the thought aside. I grabbed the glass of milk, chugging down the white liquid, took the apple from the counter and then began racing toward the door.

"Hurry up, Dad! We're gonna be late!"

"Coming, sweetheart."

I picked up my backpack from in front of the door and was only halfway out when I froze in my tracks. _"Oh shit…!_

"Hold on, I forgot something!" I yelled dropping my book bag on the brick walkway and nearly crashed into my dad in my rush to get back inside. It was 7:32.

"Rachel!" I ignored my mom's surprised exclamation as I sped past.

"_**Better hurry up,"**_ the voice echoed into my mind again. I didn't fight her. I needed to find what I was searching for fast or else I'd be late.

That manifest insanity wasn't going to mar my attendance record further.

"_Oh, why didn't I remember it when I was getting dressed this morning? Why!?" _I yelled over and over in my mind as I tore through the white shelves of another dresser on which I kept all my treasures.

Finally I spotted a wooden box with the painting of two unicorns jumping over a fallen tree in an enchanted forest I received on vacation.

"Rachel?" Damn! Mom was already at the door!

I opened the box and began shifting through the plastic trinkets. It shouldn't be this hard to…Ah! Found it!

No sooner had my fingers closed around the object of my flurried search than a hand wrapped itself around my arm and began leading me out of the room.

Then I was outside, my mother's fingers digging into my sore flesh even though she barely had a hold of it, yet the sting transmitted to my brain was not what captured my attention. It was much too absorbed by the object in my hand that I now was slipping onto my wrist: a silver charm bracelet with a total of nine silver charms dangling from it. The modest trinket was the most precious thing in the world to me next to the picture (housed in my wallet) of my friends and I smiling.

Heh, smiling. I was smiling in that picture. It had been the first time I actually smiled in my entire life.

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. A lot? Well, I just can't remember a time when I was ever that happy. At least, not as vividly as that day.

"_**It's a beautiful bracelet." **_The female voice chimed.

"_Yeah."_

"_**Your friends give it to you?"**_

"_Yeah."_

"_**Then why do you keep on saying no one in the world cares about you?"**_

"_You wouldn't understand."_

"_**I understand perfectly."**_

"_Whatever. Look, can you _please_ go away and leave me alone? I'm already insane enough as it is."_

"_**No, I can't,"**_The voice spoke, surprising me as it suddenly turned grave,_** "I have my orders."**_

This voice was confusing me more and more every damn second.

"_Orders? Orders from who?"_

"_**You know who, Rachel. You've known who for 11 years."**_

Ok, now that voice was starting to creep me out. Not a lot, j-just a little…bit.

"_Who are you?"_

"_**You'll find out in due time Dear,"**_ she said, surprising me again at the soothing gentleness with which she spoke, something no one had ever used with me, I _think_; I don't believe anybody could've said it quite as nicely, _**",all in due time."**_

"Are you listening to me, Rachel?" My mother interrupted (and effectively ended) the little mental dialogue with the alien voice my far from sane mind probably created during one of those sleepless nights.

I lifted my gaze, meeting an identical pair of stormy blue, and nodded my head on impulse, knowing it was what she wanted.

She shook her head.

"Get out of here," Mom smiled good-naturedly and pushed me forward, causing me to nearly trip over my backpack. I catch myself in the nick of time.

Picking up my backpack from the ground, I feel my head is already swimming with a migraine. My last thought as I jump into the car and drive away at 7:38 A.M. is…

"_This is gonna be one hell of a day."_

* * *

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

Yeah, so I guess I was lying when I said no one in the world cares about me. There are people who have bothered to take time out of their purposeful lives to notice my purposeless one – eight people to be exact. They were my true "family" who had stuck it out with me throughout my screwed life and helped me through every obstacle I faced when no one else would. When I was broken, they pieced me back together as best they could, and for that, I am forever indebted to them and will love them for all my life.

Chris, Alex, Marina, Brandon, Zeke, Kara, Maria, and Mitchell gave me a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to breathe where a dream of my "true love" rescuing me from my hell hole had once done the same.

They were the ones who gave me my charm bracelet for my last birthday, each one of them having presented me a charm; however, it was more than just a birthday present to me. It was more than just a birthday.

It was my first birthday since getting over the worst problem I ever faced in my life – for most of my life, actually – and I had my "family" to thank for helping me survive to my eleventh birthday.

In three months, it'll be a year that I've had this bracelet. I just hope I don't lose my friends like I lost the rest of my life, though. Call me dramatic, but that's how I feel. It's the truth!

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

* * *

Lunchtime: 11:36. My friends and I are seated at our usual picnic table outside in the open courtyard between the gym, cafeteria, and middle school building.

It had been a hell of a day. Never have I experienced another day where I've been more stressed. My head ached from all the questions the voice was throwing at me. She was breaking me down, slowly but surely, chipping off the mask that hid all my secrets from the world, the wall which restricted my innermost destructive being.

She didn't understand. She didn't understand. She didn't understand what it was doing to me, the pain she was causing me with her being stuck in my head.

"_Why? Why can't you leave me be? Give me some peace!"_

"_**What peace?"**_

"_You irritating voice, leave me alone!"_

Throughout first, second, third, and fourth hour, I had tried to ignore the voice when she spoke to me, but to no avail. When I ignored her, the voice would grow in intensity until she was screaming in my ears and I'd wonder why the person sitting next to me couldn't hear her. And when I wouldn't be able to take it anymore, I would yell out my answer to her in class. Aloud.

Some would suppress their giggles, trying not to interrupt the teacher's already interrupted lecture. Others would just laugh, and still more "others" would just stare; stare with wide, questioning eyes.

The teacher would ask me with a stern look if I had anything to say to the class; I'm sorry, anything _important _to say to the class. I would say no and sink into my chair, perhaps in the hope that doing so would make me invisible, and remain silent for the rest of class.

The friends who shared my classes would ask me if anything was wrong as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of that class and the beginning of its successor. I'd give them the same answer I gave my teachers.

No. Everything's fine. Peachy keen. _Hunky dory._

My hands shook as I picked up the comic book I brought with me. The spine read "Naruto 12" on it.

"You really sure you're ok, Rachel?" A voice other than the one that had seemingly trapped itself in my head of its own free will pierced my thoughts. I silently thanked whoever it was that broke the thoughts in question, as the psychological war I was waging and inevitably losing was worsening migraine.

It was Alex, her expression one of worry. The others stopped their conversations and looked at me, awaiting my answer.

"Huh? O-oh yeah, yeah!" I dropped my book onto my lap, managing a smile and laugh as I frantically waved my hands in front of me, boding them to ask no more. "I'm fine, really."

"You sure?" Marina questioned me this time, "You aren't looking too good."

"Yeah, you're even paler than me! And that's saying something!" Brandon pointed out (may I add the phrase, "Oh so helpfully?"). Everyone around the table nodded.

It was true, unfortunately. My face was paler than pale, even with the sun's warmth caressing my cheeks. My freckles barely stood out and my eyes were dreary, reflecting more fatigue than was normal. My hair was devoid of any sheen or volume…

…What the hell. I was a mess.

Without the energy to mantain the fake smile, I let it drop, sighing. "I'm f-fine guys. Really."

"No you aren't," Zeke replied. "It's obvious you aren't alright when you stutter, unless you suddenly got a speech impediment."

I sighed again and returned to my comic book, picking up where I left off.

Little did I notice that the voice had remained silent during the entire three minute conversation.

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

"Ooooh, she's reading it again!" Brandon said.

"What?" Chris looked up from his Ghost in the Shell novel.

My face prickled with heat and I hid myself behind my book.

"Naruto comic 12," Chris cited. "Didn't you already read that comic?"

"Ha, ha! Yeah, she has a million times. She only reads it because _Neji's_ in it."

I glared at Mitchell over my book's rim only to then slide it over to Marina as she sing-songed, "Ooooh! She's wearing her Neji shirt under her jacket again, too! How cute!"

Everybody guffawed.

I hissed at my companions in a low whisper, "Shut the fuck up!"

Neji Hyuuga: my three year crush. They loved teasing me about it. It's sad, isn't it? I've sunk so low as to fall in love with a nonexistent anime character. Yeah, I'm that unappealing to guys.

I stuck my nose back in my book, my face burning. Silence followed as the laughter from the earlier remark died down.

Suddenly, Alex asked an unexpected question. "Brandon, didn't you say that you were going to skip out of school today after lunch?"

"Shhh, don't say that so loud!"

"You're skipping out today!?" Mitchell piped, almost jumping out of his seat.

"Shhh!" Brandon shushed the group who began buzzing with conversation at Mitchell's outburst. He slumped and rested his head in his hands. "Yeah, what of it?"

I put my book down, curious as to why Alex, of all people, was asking this question.

"Why don't you bring Rachel along with you?"

"What?" Brandon and I exclaimed at the same time.

Alex explained. "Rachel isn't doing good and school isn't doing much to help, so she needs to get away and you're her ticket out of here."

"B-but what of school? They'll find out and we'll get in trouble and my mom…" I began, so many things running through my mind of what could go wrong.

"Who cares?" Zeke said, scribbling down an answer on his unfinished math paper.

Chris backed Alex up on her idea. "I agree, Rachel. You need a break. You haven't been doing well these past few days and you need a day off."

"I-I don't know." And I didn't. What was I gonna do?

"…_**You should listen to them."**_

I had not been expecting to hear the voice. _"What happened to Miss Goody Two-Shoes? Why are you telling me to do this?"_

"_**They're right. We're telling you this for your own good, I and your friends."**_

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I would wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

"Yoo-hoo, Rachel! Earth to Rachel!" Someone's hand was waving in front of my face. I blinked.

"Huh?"

"She's alive!" Zeke laughed.

"I was saying I don't care if you tag along, Rachy. You won't slow me down, unlike Mitchell or Marina here." Brandon pointed at the aforementioned couple leaning across the table, their hands folded in pleading.

"Please take us with you! We don't want to go to fifth hour!"

"You and the rest of the school," Brandon mumbled.

Chris and Alex shook their heads at the two.

"Give it up," Zack advised them, checking over his paper before slamming it inside his math book, "You two aren't going anywhere."

"So what do you say, Rachey?" Brandon asked, turning his attention to me. "You'd better hurry up. The seventh graders are already gathering outside the doors which means lunch is almost over."

I looked toward the sky, unsure of what to do. My head ached as I waited for the voice to talk, to tell me my course of action, but it never came. I had to make my decision soon.

"_Who cares what the parental units think…"_

"I'll go." I said, drawing my eyes from the blue of the sky to my red-headed friend.

He smirked. "Good choice. Now here's the plan."

00000000000000

It seemed no time had passed when the bell rang. Brandon had just finished elaborating the plan to me.

"Hopefully, we won't get caught." He grinned cheerfully, as if what he had just said was reassuring.

We all stood up. A crowd of students surrounded us like water swirling around a rock in the middle of a fast-flowing river.

"See you next hour."

"Try not to strain your brain like you did last time."

"Same could be said for you."

"Alright. Bye guys! See ya, Brandon. Rachel."

To eavesdroppers, it would sound like a normal parting of ways between school chums before they headed off to class, but I knew better. It was our way of saying goodbye to Brandon when he'd ditch school without casting unnecessary suspicion on him.

I was beginning to have second thoughts, but there was no backing out now. Their farewells weren't just for Brandon now. It was for me, too.

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I would wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

"_I have to do this. For me! Come on, Rachel! Grow some backbone!"_

I made a beeline for my black backpack rested at the foot of the book bag shelves that lined one section of the hallway. All our friends had moved on; it was me and Brandon left to the mercy of student traffic.

The plan had just been initiated.

Step one of the plan was to head for the restrooms where we were to stake out in one of the stalls until the final bell rang. My heart was pounding in my chest as I stepped into my gender's respective bathroom and shut myself in the pale yellow stall to the left. Two girls stood near the sinks talking.

"_What a beautiful place to have a conversation."_

I hung my backpack on the metal peg screwed to the stall door. Bringing my knees to my chest, I prayed the girls would leave soon, and they did when the minute bell rang, its warning clear as its clamor roused the two _ladies_ up and out of the john. I sighed in relief, but it was short lived.

The final bell rang shortly after. Six more minutes rolled by, six minutes during which I could hear my own heart as it thumped against my chest.

Phase one: complete. The easy part was over and done with, now came the hard part; or, hard _part__s_ might be a more accurate term.

Brandon had instructed me that, six minutes after the final bell, he'd go and check if the coast was clear. If he was caught by a teacher, he'd make up the excuse that he had to go to the bathroom and still needed to get his math book. When everything was all clear, he'd come and fetch me.

"_It's too risky to knock, and besides, there's no one else there other than you, Rachel."_ He'd said.

My heart leapt into my throat when I heard taps on my stall door.

"Come on, Rachey. It's safe."

I had been too caught up in my own thoughts to hear the door to the bathroom open and close shut.

"Jeez! Brandon! You scared the hell outta me!"

"Shut up!" He whispered, looking around as if expecting a teacher to walk in and bust us. It _was_ a possibility. "Sorry for scaring you. Now come on. We've got to hurry, and don't forget your bag!"

"Oh…yeah." I snatched my backpack off the peg and hurried after him. Phase two was complete, but now came the toughest and most terrifying part of the escape.

The actual escape.

We burst through the back doors of the middle school, pushing the levers as quietly as we could, and sprinted into the small courtyard between the middle and high school building. No one occupied either hallway, so Lady Luck was playing on our side, but we weren't out of the school just yet.

Adrenaline released into my bloodstream as we raced past the dumpster to the left of us and to the road that led to the elementary school, heightening my senses to a new extreme and pumping excitement into my limbs and throughout the rest of my body. It made me want to scream from the build up of emotions inside my chest.

At this point, we were running up a steep, grassy hill on the other side of the paved road. Brandon was aiming for a gate hidden in the bushes, a gate I had noticed many times before driving into the school. We halted at the front of the gate, imaginary footsteps in the foreground of my imagination growing closer with each passing millisecond that we wasted.

"Come on, Brandon!" I whispered harshly, bouncing on the balls of my feet in pure anxiety. "Hurry up! Someone could be coming!"

"I'm trying, but I can't find the key! The gate's locked!" He frantically searched his pockets, but no matter if he pulled them out in a flash or forgot them in the building, he wouldn't have been able to get them in hand quick enough.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, using the added superhuman strength the adrenaline bestowed, and threw him over the tall, pointed fence.

"Unlock it now!"

I almost screamed, "Hurry, please!", as well, yet soon as I open my mouth to yell, the gate swung open and two hands wrenched me through with an accompanying by a grunt.

The gate shut with a clank just as our next hour teacher, Mr. Tolbin, stepped outside. He would've been in perfect view of me if Brandon hadn't pulled me through.

"Freak out moment?" Brandon asked, an amused grin plastered on his face.

"Y-yeah, I guess."

"You really need to calm down; it isn't that big a deal."

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I would wish to_

_Start life over again_

_A second chance…_

My heart beat was slowly regressing to normal. I glanced up at my friend and apologized.

"No need to be sorry. Now let's get going before the guy who lives here notices us and calls the school. He hates kids." Brandon smiled and strolled off around the house. I lighted onto my feet and followed.

It didn't take long to get from here to Brandon's house. When we reached his front door, he entered a code on a pad next to the door. A click was heard as the door automatically unlocked itself.

We trudged inside and Brandon closed the door as I slumped against the wall, suddenly exhausted by the day's events. Hey, an adrenaline rush will do that to you.

"You ok, Rachel?"

"Yeah, just a little tired. What time is it?"

"It's…"

He never did finish that sentence.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

We both jumped at the loud noise.

I stared at the door, my heart beat racing again at a breakneck pace.Silence reigned in the lonely house. Both of us didn't make a move or a sound, afraid it might break the peace and cause the dreadful knocking to resume. No such luck…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Whoever stood on Brandon's doorstep must really have wanted to get in. The knocking was louder and done in a more violent manner.

Brandon reached for the door. Dread consumed me. I did _not_want him to open that door.

"_**Don't let him open that door!"**_ The voice filled my head, pushing any stray musings that may have remained during the past terrifying events aside.

"Brandon, don't open the door!"

He stopped, his hand floating above the knob. "Why not? We need to open it to see who's on the other side."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Brandon. Don't. Open. That. Door."

"Come on, it's not like the person on the other side can hurt us or anything."

I gave him a look that said, "Are you kidding me?", earning a slight flinch in return. "_Ok_… you have a point. But, seriously, what are the chances of the person being some crazed serial killer?"

"Brandon…"

"Alright, alright, I won't open the door, Miss Paranoid."

"Thank you," I breathed, turning around. Before I even took a step, the quick opening of the door reached my ears.

"What the…" I heard Brandon mutter.

I spun back around on the balls of my heels, fearing the sight that I would soon behold; however, it was what I didn't see that horrified me.

I didn't see anything. There was nothing there.

"Then who knocked on the door?"

"I don't _know_," Brandon replied. "That is just scary."

Seconds turned to minutes as we stood there, taking in the sight of his empty front step. When he got over the initial shock and weirdness of the situation, Brandon shut the door and locked it. He was still pretty shaken up though, as was I.

"You wanna go play some…uh…video games or something?" He suggested.

I slid my gaze over to my companion, whom at the moment seemed a total stranger to me. "Sure."

I didn't do much; I sat on the floor, leaning against Brandon's bed as he sat atop the feathery mattress playing _Dawn of the Dead_ on his X-box. I, meanwhile, was sinking, sinking deep into one of my random depressions. It was a…repercussion.

What had I become? This-this cowardly, weak little girl! Who was she?! Who the hell…who the hell was she?! I screwed up, this isn't what I wanted…to be.

"_No, no! Stop! Don't think those things! Please…stop."_

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I would wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

My thoughts, over-laden with despair, were impossible to turn around. They would overflow until I couldn't control myself and then…I'd have to do it.

"Brandon…can I go to bathroom?"

"Yeah, sure ya can." He answered, eyes glued to the TV screen.

"Thanks..."

I stumbled out of the room and two doors down the wood-floored hallway, I found it.

I surveyed the room. Shower, sink, towels, toothbrushes, toilet, etc., etc., oh wait, there wasn't any toilet paper. There were no extra rolls on the shelves placed above the toilet either. I can't use real towels when I do it. That would leave too much evidence…

I silently cursed.

Again, I stumbled down the hall until I came across the kitchen. Now I know I saw them somewhere when we…ah! There!

Sitting on the counter were the things I was looking for, some paper towels and a little something_ else_ that I slipped into my back pocket as I made my way back to the bathroom.

Closing and locking the door, I stuck the paper towels I ripped from the roll behind the faucet and – instead of heading for the toilet – turned on the faucet, plugging the drain so the water began to fill the sink.

I watched as it slowly rose.

Once the clear liquid had filled the sink about mid-way, I pulled the something else from out of my back pocket and held it in my hand; my grip was so strong, my knuckles were white.

"_What's good to be said about me?"_ A new wave of degrading thoughts swept over me. _"I'm nothing. I'm trash. I-I'm so…useless." _I bent over the sink for but a moment, inhaling a shaky breath.

I righted myself and turned off the faucet before the water overflowed.

Empty eyes that resembled the color of rain stared at my reflection.

I placed the something else on the side of the sink, careful that it would not slip into the pool of water. I began to take off my jacket and, as it slid down my arms and fell to the ground at my feet, gruesome scars were revealed, marring my arms in a horrific fashion. Some were old while others were fairly recent and still a bit red. One particularly long, red one extended from underneath my right shirt sleeve and down a little way below my elbow.

And the something else? A sharp knife with a razor blade sat at the edge of the sink, waiting for me to bring it to my scarred arms and draw the crimson blood from them.

"_I really should stop right now…"_

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I would wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

But the relief, it was only a moment away. A single prick and it'll be all over. I could enjoy a few minutes of watching blood slide down my skin before patching it up with the first aid supplies in Brandon's bathroom. Then I just wash the knife of any trace of crimson, slip on my jacket, and go on acting as if nothing had happened.

"_I guess no harm'll come from one tiny cut."_

I brought the silver blade from the sink to my right arm, preparing to make a slash across the long cut. From the cold stainless steel rose goose bumps all up my arm.

'_**Don't do it.' **_The voice spoke sternly, like a mother scolding a young child.

_Mom…_

"_Shut up! You don't understand!" _The irrational part of me screamed.

"_**What would your friends say if they saw you doing this?! After they worked so hard to get you help, keeping the secret from your parents, you're just going to turn your back on them?!"**_

"_S-shut up!"_

"_**You don't want to do this! You were telling yourself to stop before!"**_

"…"

"_**Do you want to hurt your friends?! Betray them because you feel you can't overcome the strings of the puppet master?!"**_

"_No…"_

"_**Then stop!"**_

I exhaled a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding. My hands trembled, the blade hitting my arm but not cutting it. Didn't I want this? I started to do it despite telling myself not to…no. No, no, no, no, no! I can't do that to my friends. I promised them…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I dropped the knife, letting it clamor to the floor. I stared wide eyed at the door.

"_That knocking…"_

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I turned the lock and flung open the door, thinking, _"I won't let that knocker get away this time! However he managed to get into the house, I don't know, but I'll kick his-…!"_

No one.

I rubbed my eyes and checked again.

"B-brandon!" I called anxiously. There was a pause and then footsteps plodded down the hall. I started when he came into view.

"Yeah? Hey, where's your jacket?"

"I got hot so I took it off, but that's not the point. Brandon, did you bang on the bathroom door a few minutes ago?"

"Nooooo…why?"

I blinked slowly and shook my head.

"N-nothing." I grabbed his arm and started dragging back down the hall to the bedroom, not caring for the mess I left behind. "Let's go back."

He managed a one-armed shrug in response and soon fell into pace beside me. The disembodied knocks continued to bug me, however, even as we sat in our spots and the horror music started up again.

"_I don't like that knocking."_

"_**Neither do I."**_

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_


	3. Angel's Horns

Disclaimer: No own Naruto.

Warning: Can't take a little religion? Sucks for you because you're gonna miss out. Biotches! :P

LotusEmpress: More editing! More…er, stuff!

* * *

_He shrugged in response and fell into pace beside me. The disembodied knocks continued to bug me, however, even as we sat in our spots and the horror music started up again._

"_I don't like that knocking."_

"_**Neither do I."**_

_If I could have_

_Just one wish_

_I'd wish to_

_Start life over again._

_A second chance…_

* * *

_**One Wish: Angel's Horns**_

"Ah crap!" I exclaimed as my character fell to the ground, dead. The hoard of zombies surrounding me began to feast upon my flesh.

"Haha!" Brandon laughed at my defeat, which had been a humiliating one at that. I barely took five steps before I died!

"Loser," he added as a mocking gesture, maneuvering his way expertly through the hundreds of undead creatures, slaying them one by one.

I gave him a mock glare.

"I'll show you who the real loser is!" I said, knocking the controller out of his hands.

"Hey!" He yelped, scrambling to retrieve his fallen controller.

"Too late." I smiled smugly and pointed at the TV, the words 'Game Over' painted across the screen. His head quickly shot up; one hand grasped the controller, the other held onto the edge of the bed, keeping his balance.

"You…you killed me!"

"Hahaha! I laugh maniacally at your pain!"

Brandon stuck out his lower lip and pouted. "Whatever."

Sticking my tongue out at him, I raised my middle finger and quickly retreated to the carpet floor. Brandon pretended to widen his eyes in horror at my gesture.

"Rachel! Have ye no shame!?"

I giggled slightly without meaning to. It was so much easier to just talk without the pressures of school weighing down on my shoulders.

I guess this _was_ a good idea.

"You wanna play again?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nah, I'll just watch you get your butt kicked."

He smirked. "Well then, you'd better get comfortable cause that ain't gonna happen to me. Remember: I don't suck like you." He snickered at his little comment and continued to play his game.

I paid heed to the screen for a few minutes, watching him play, slaying zombie after zombie, but soon got bored of it. As it was clear he wasn't going to die any time soon, I began to rummage through my backpack absentmindedly. Maybe I had something interesting in here to play with or something.

Hmm…I could always do my homework. Not necessarily entertaining, but it'll pass the time and at least I can get it all done and out of the way.

So I started scrounging around in my backpack, coming up with useless things that were not my textbooks: my wallet, a crumpled up, old math assignment, house keys, I-pod, I-pod charger, no textbooks…

"Oh shit!"

Brandon paused his game and then turned to me. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot to grab my textbooks!" I cried, looking up at him from my text bookless backpack.

"You didn't even have time to grab them." Brandon pointed out, already bored with where the conversation was headed. "Besides, it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal!?" I looked up from my backpack, which I had begun searching through again in the hope that the textbooks had appeared like magic during the 2.5 seconds I had looked away from it, and glared at him.

"Calm down, Rachel." He put his hands up in front of himself, as if he was trying to push me away, knowing all too well how I felt about grades. Good grades were the only things that made me feel really accomplished. "You can use my textbooks."

My angry glare changed to a disbelieving stare. "_You_ brought your textbooks home?" I sounded slightly hopeful, but I knew it would've been a miracle of nature if he had actually brought them with him.

Sure enough, he scratched his head and smiled uncomfortably. "Well…no."

"Ugh!" I groaned and banged my head against the metal leg of his bed.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You're over-reacting, Rachey. Look," he glanced at the digital clock sitting atop his television, "it is…4:06. There shouldn't be any students or teachers in the middle or high school buildings. So just go back the way we came, get your books, and come back."

I blinked. "I didn't think of that."

"Of course you didn't, it was my idea." Brandon grinned, as if it were obvious.

It was obvious.

"Uh, yeah…heh, silly me," I laughed awkwardly. It kinda hurt though.

My depression from hours ago began to bore a hole in my chest again. Why was I still so sensitive about these things? I thought I had been cured of this crap…

"_Come on! That's not something I should be getting worked up about. He was just stating a fact. Now, get up and start walking!"_

"Right," I grabbed my backpack and stood up, "I won't be long."

"Ok, see ya." He replied, having already directed his attention back to the television screen.

I left the room and shuffled down the hallway, preferring to slide across the wooden floor than pick up my feet (we had decided to take off our shoes after the knocking incident at the door. It was much more comfortable).

Reaching the front door where I had left my shoes, I sat down. My backpack plopped beside me, the arm strap slipping down to my elbow as I hadn't bothered to release my arm from it.

After putting on my shoes, I opened the door and prepared to walk out, but feeling colder than I should have, I stopped.

"_I haven't felt the sun on my arms in years, why the heck now?"_

I looked down, expecting to see the black sleeves of my jacket. They weren't there.

"_Shoot! I can't go out sleeveless!"_

I closed the door quickly and retraced my steps back to where I had been but a few hours ago. Without thought or command, my hand captured the handle of the door. It stood ajar so I could see the sink filled to its brim with water.

I instinctively gulped.

Feelings of fear and longing were aroused in me and tugged at my heart, an old and familiar eagerness filling me like it had those many hours ago. My thoughts were feverous, awash with what might've been desire.

The beautiful steel blade…cold metal cutting into my skin…solace is just lying on the floor, waiting…

I shook my head hard. _"Don't think about it! I don't want to go back there!"_

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Inside, my jacket lay where I had last left it in a heap on the floor in front of the sink. Beyond it laid the knife, glinting in the fluorescent lighting. I froze and gazed at the silver blade.

"_Avoid the knife, don't look at it and just pick up the jacket. Then I'll leave and hope that Brandon's bladder doesn't reach maximum capacity."_

I quickly averted my gaze from what had been my escape from reality for so many years and focused my sights on the jacket that lay in a pile on the floor. I took a step inside and then another, one foot over the other until I was standing over the black jacket.

I hastily bent down and grabbed it before bounding out of the room. Closing the door behind, I took a few more breaths, trying in vain to calm myself down.

"_I have a real problem if this is how I react to a knife."_

"Rachel? You still here?" Brandon called from his room, causing my heart to nearly burst from my chest. The game's haunting music drifted in the aural background.

"Y-yeah, I'm…I'm fine. I mean - I'm here! I just almost forgot my jacket." I stumbled over my words, still recovering from my initial shock.

"Ok, you'd better hurry up." Brandon called again. I nodded, forgetting the fact that he couldn't see me doing it and headed to the door. I slipped on my jacket before heading out.

"See ya, Brandon!"

"See ya!"

* * *

My stride was slow as I traced my way back up the sidewalk, my thoughts centered on something other than walking.

"_Where is she?"_

Yes, where was she? The voice…she hadn't spoken the whole time after my breakdown in the bathroom.

"_Maybe I should try talking to her? I guess it wouldn't hurt. Hey…Hey voice, are you there!?"_

No answer.

"_Hey! Hello! Voice! Are you there!?"_

Still no answer.

I sighed. _"I guess she's gone."_

I was kind of sad. She was really annoying, but I still missed her a little.

I halted and my mind floated back down to Earth. I had stopped in front of the guy's house whose backyard gate we had used to escape. A car stood in the driveway, its soulless eyes warning against any trespassers. I smiled, surprised at my unusual calmness.

It's like the voice had left part of her with me when she'd departed from my mind.

I strolled around the car and onto the grass, the green stalks crunching under my feet, and, before anyone looking through the windows on the side of the house could've spotted me, I was standing in front of the cast-iron gate, peering over and into the school parkway.

This was the line, the boundary that separated me from the safety of the gated neighborhood and the open acre of concrete and learning that stood erect in front of me, where I'd be bare, vulnerable, and alone.

I lifted the latch. The gate swung agape with a loud creak. I paid no heed to the aperture and left it alone, knowing it would automatically lock as soon as I closed it. There was a key that could unlock the latch, but Brandon had it and I hadn't thought of asking him for it.

"_Oh well…"_

I stepped onto school ground, the grass sloping down to the parkway road. The September sun shined brightly.

Coming here, I felt something…something of a hunch that I had started – err – _some_thing, for lack of a better term. Set the wheel of fate turning.

Why? I don't know. However, I sensed it just as I realized I wouldn't be able to stop it. I don't think I want to.

Besides, something out of the ordinary happening in my life would be gladly welcomed.

"_Here it goes."_

But as I went, one question wouldn't quit nagging me, a notion that wouldn't go away – and for good reasons, too (although I wasn't sure what those reasons were).

It seems like I'm always left with something bothering me.

"_Where did she go?"_

* * *

As all beings – living and none, conscience bearing and mindless, abstract and concrete – settled in their hand-crafted niches on the ever-rotating Earth below, high above, something else was happening. To infinite and beyond the clouds and sky and the stars, an altercation, albeit a calm altercation of the verbal sort, was brewing in Heaven's Kingdom.

The angel faced the pearl gates of heaven and called to the guards atop the watchtowers to remove her jeweled obstacle.

They did as told without hesitation.

"The Lord has been waiting for you." One informed as the angel walked past onto the golden road. She paid him no heed.

The gates swung shut behind the angel, and, for a moment, the expressionless face of the seraphim melted into one of loss and yearning, but only for that moment.

Continuing on its way, knowing she did not have much time before destiny took the wheel from her hands, the angel's pace quickened to a run. She had to get there…she had to get there before fate took its course!

To a human's muted eyesight, all one would have seen would have been a blur. Mansions, apartments, castles, cottages, and so forth flashed by in her haste.

The angel's destination – the very center of heaven in all its glory – appeared on the white horizon, no time having passed due to the lack of its actual presence. …

The Courtyard.

The angel slowed in front of the white stone entrance. Overlooking the arched entranceway posed statues of the four creatures that represented the Lord in all his awesome power.

Unfortunately, there was no time to further appreciate the perfect sculptures of His Majesty. Time was running out.

They were going to summon Rachel anytime now.

Onto her knees the angel bowed, and the voice cried out.

"Milord!"

What seemed a long while passed until another voice that shook the grounds of Heaven responded, "Come."

The voice stood, her slender legs straightening out beneath her.

The Courtyard was breathtaking, full of vegetation of all kinds and a wooden swing that hung from the branches of a great maple. The paths here were made of dirt instead of gold so only nature in all its beauty surrounded the noble light of the Lord, the centerpiece of Heaven's centerpiece.

Usually, the unconventional temple was crowded by human souls wishing to see the mighty Creator and ask questions of Him, but the Lord in all His omniscient wisdom had cleared the place of all by-standers, knowing that she would be here to question His judgment on the girl.

Head bowed, she fell to her knees again before her God.

"Milord…"

"You are here when you should be with her. That is your place."

"Yes I know, Milord. But the time has almost come and I…"

"You came to question why I chose her." A mirror surfaced in the light, rippling like water in a pond.

"Raise your head and look," God commanded. The voice did as she was told. The mirror reflected the human girl walking down the sidewalk to her school.

"_I have less time than I thought…"_

"_His_ vassal will soon reach the portal. You must be with her to help her through what is to come when she reaches the land."

"Is not the other there to help her? I thought…"

"They have changed their plans. She will now be transported farther away from the original destination. The other will be unable to aid her, so you must step into her place and keep _him_ locked away."

The voice shuddered. She did not want to think of _him_.

"Milord, she is only a child. You cannot expect her to just be able to get up and leave her home."

"But I do. It is not the first time a human from this world has gone to the other side, and she certainly cannot stay here."

"Why?"

"You know very well why. This is not her place. If she stays here, she will die. _He_ will rip her apart and be free again."

"She has friends here! They can help!"

"How so?"

"…"

"Exactly my point: there is nothing more that needs or can be done. It is the only safe-haven where she can be healed and _he_ can be destroyed. You cannot interfere, though I know you will. The time has come that she will take choice into her hands again. Once she crosses the border of the two realities, she will be on her own to lead her life the way she sees fit.

"You give her too little credit. I created her, and I know she will be strong. She has yet to find the power hidden within her. Besides," the Lord chuckled, "Neji is there."

The voice bowed her head again, trying to think of something, _anything_ to make Him change his mind, but she knew He was right. He was _always_ right.

"…But she's only a child."

"I know you wish to stay her from the pain of what is to come, but it is for the best – for her and My children. Sacred Good, it is time you returned. Go. Your wings fly again on the four winds and My speed is with you, rest assured."

"Yes, Milord."

For the first time since _he _had awakened from his long slumber, the flightless wings on her back, wings the color of precious ivory, began to beat and lift her off the ground.

"_It has been too long…"_

And she was speeding back down to Earth, through the pearl gates and spiraling down and down to infinite and beyond the stars and sky and clouds…

"_I'm sorry, Milord, but I must interfere. This is too great a task for a mere child. I know she has always wished to go there but…"_

Almost there, and the little girl she had been set to guard was now running down her middle school's single hallway. A door to Rachel's left flew open.

"…_I won't just leave it up to fate with her. If I give her a choice, will she really leave all her friends behind to live in a world in which she knows no one and nothing, a world in which danger truly does lurk around every corner?"_

Rachel fell into the doorway, as if she were being sucked in by some unnatural force. The voice could hear _his _laughter through the weakening bars that imprisoned him within the little girl.

"Well, we'll soon find out."

And with speed unimaginable, the angel followed through the door and a light any passing mortal would be blind to, flashed.

The door closed.

* * *

Pulling open the doors of the high school, I bounded out into the open courtyard, leaving behind my open locker, books, and math teacher whose class I had skipped out of only a few hours before.

"_Damn, damn, damn!"_ My heart pounded in my chest to the rhythm of my cursing, _"How the hell am I supposed to get out of this?!"_

Only seconds after I started running did I actually realize the sheer stupidity of my decided course-of-action.

"_I just ran away from a teacher!"_

Yes, and running away from a teacher like a maniac in the same day that I skipped out of school with one of my best friends gives them all the more reason to punish me, but hey, I had panicked.

I paused halfway in the middle of the small courtyard. A chilly breeze blew, causing the dead leaves that littered the ground to scatter.

"_Should I go back to the gate?"_ I pondered, turning the possibility over in my mind.

No, I couldn't go back there. The teacher behind me would overtake me before I'd reach the gate. There was no way I could outrun him. I mean, he not only teaches math, but he also teaches high school P.E. While he was probably out running some marathon-for-a-cure thing, I was sitting on my couch back home, not caring. Not even a tiny bit.

Nada.

The sound of body slamming against door got my feet moving again, danger instinct overriding all other logical reasoning.

"_Damn!"_

I had to slow down. I needed to think. Running blindly would just get me caught all the more quickly, but what could I do?

Better question: Why am I asking _myself _that? And even better than _that_…

Oh, why'd he have to stay late? Why'd my locker have to be located right _next_ to his room? Why'd I have to be born a chicken?

Through the sonance of mental onslaughts and ragged breathing, the dull thud of closing doors reached my ears and I found myself racing through the cramped hallways of the middle school. Pale yellow lockers zipped by in my mad rush to get away from the teacher slowly creeping up on me.

Suddenly, though, the frantic expression on my face turned to one of realization, then to hopeful and relieved. If I couldn't dodge my problems by running away from them, then why not hide from them? And I was in the perfect place for a little game of hide and seek, too!

These thoughts clicked in my brain after only a matter of mille-seconds, and then I was veering to the left toward one of the classrooms, the doors of which matched the ugly yellow of the lockers perfectly. The number 208 hung under the small window in the doorway.

"_The science room," _I thought, smirking. _"Perfect."_

Again, the doors to the middle school were opened and slammed shut with a loud bang. Angry shouts of "Hey!" and "Stop!" followed me down the hall, but it was too late. I was gonna make it. By the time he got to where I was now, I'd be hiding in that little nook under the science teacher's desk that Zeke and Brandon had showed me. Even if he looked under the desk, he wouldn't be able to find me. Yeah, that's how good my hiding spot was. It was perfect.

I congratulated myself and treated my back to a mental pat. This was a brilliant idea. Probably, if anyone else had been in this situation, they would've kept on running.

"_I really am smart."_

But my victorious gloating was cut short as I reached for the knob of the door. Before I even touched it, the metal knob turned and the door swung open on its own. I think my heart stopped at that moment.

"_Another teacher?!"_

I was screwed. I was plain screwed. There was no way of getting out of this one, no amazing story of close-calls and escapes to bring back to Brandon.

I. Was. Screwed (y'know, if you didn't already get it the first time around; you're welcome).

It took what seemed forever as the door swung wide. I stumbled backwards out of the way and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my math teacher closing in on me before the door replaced my view of him.

I wanted to scream, I truly did. I recalled for a second the disembodied knocks on the front and bathroom door. This was just the same, except, this time, whatever it was had let itself in.

The entranceway was empty.

Just as the front doorstep and the hallway outside the bathroom were.

"_What the hell is going on here?!" _I screamed inside my head.

My backpack swayed and hit my side, nearly slipping from my arm. I had forgotten that it was still with me. I glanced down at it, my attention inexorably drawn to the black bag. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled.

"_I have a very bad feeling…"_

My eyes widened in horror as the bag was jerked into the classroom, as if pulled by a pair of invisible hands, and I along with it.

Falling headlong into the room, I tried to catch myself, my backpack falling out of my clutches as I did so, but as soon as my foot came in contact with the white tiled floor, all the tiles broke apart like glass and flew upward, the classroom disappearing into darkness along with them.

The last thing I remember seeing was the artificial, white lights of the hallway before the door closed and I was falling into darkness.

And that was all I saw for a very long time.

* * *

Mr. Tolbin ran down the middle school hall, all the while shouting at the little hooligan,

"Hey! Stop!"

This was the last time Rachel or one of her trouble-making friends would pull one over on him. Well, Rachel had never really been a trouble-maker herself, but he always knew something was rotten about her, and of course, what better way to confirm his suspicions than to skip out on school?

"_A good thing I stayed late to grade those papers."_

He sped up. Tolbin had definitely been more than a little surprised when he walked out of his classroom, ready to head home after a long day, and found the girl kneeled at her locker, even more so when she just scurried away like a little bug about to be stepped on when she saw him. Not that she could outrun him.

He chuckled, watching her run directly to the science room. Was she hoping to hide from him?

"_Well consider those hopes dashed cause no one gets away from Jerry P. Tolbin!"_

The middle aged man sprinted after her, gaining fast. The door swung open as she was reaching for it.

"_Hmm…is there another teacher here?" _He wondered, squinting. He didn't see anyone on the other side of the door's window.

He directed his attention back to the girl again, deciding to ignore the strange happening for some sort of prank, but found that the door was blocking her from sight.

"Humph." He grunted.

"_I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind when I get a hold of her!"_

He stopped in front of the aperture just as soon as it closed shut and threw open the door. "I got ya, you little--!" He froze and, after a few moments of shocked silence, exclaimed, "What...!?"

The room was totally _empty._

Poor Mr. Tolbin stood there for a little while longer until he began to run again, but this time, he wasn't after a student. No, this time he was running to the main office to alert the principal that something really strange had occurred in the middle school science room. He could feel it in the air of that room, all cold and as if something was watching you. It wasn't natural.

"_As soon as I get home tonight," _he told himself, _"I'm gonna get m'self a drink."_

* * *

"_My face……hurts." _I noted when I finally began to stir. Really, I didn't want to. Stir, I mean. I just wanted to lie there. But….but something kept on poking me in the side in….in a sharp, prodding kind of way and I couldn't keep from stirring.

So I began to rouse from my sleep, resenting every second of it.

"Finally! I thought you'd never wake up!" Someone exclaimed above me.

"Ugh" was that someone's only reply as I attempted to sit up, using my spindly arms to lever myself, but I only succeeded in making another face plant into the ground. Whoever it was standing over me sighed and suddenly I felt myself being wrenched up by my collar and then dropped on my butt in an uncerimonious heap on the ground.

"Ouch!" I cried, rubbing my tush. The sudden shock had caused me to open my sleep-crusted eyes in shock, and I finally got a chance to take in what surrounded me.

The landscape was completely barren except for a few blackened trees that dotted the otherwise empty horizon. The ground was hard, rocks strewn across it and the sky was a sullen shade of dirty lavender.

"Damn." I muttered, taking in the sad scene.

"Hurry up." The person spoke with a tone of impatience. Hmmm…it sounded slightly _familiar…_

…but I decided to ignore the stranger and continued to stare at the barren world that stretched out in front of me. In all but two seconds though, I was wrenched up by my collar again, this time to my feet.

"Quit wasting time!" The person, who I suspected to be a woman by the sound of it, commanded. "There's nothing to see out here."

I narrowed my eyes. _"Who does this person think she is?"_ I thought angrily, balling my fists. _"I may take orders from my parents and from my teachers, but there is no way in _hell_ I'm taking orders from the likes of her, whoever SHE is!"_

"Hey lady," I snapped my head around to finally look at the stranger who had been standing by my side when I was out cold. I never got past those two first words of my rant, however, before I froze with what must've been a mix between confusion and terror.

"_What the…what the hell!?"_

Standing almost nonchalantly was an exact mirror of…of…of…._me, _except she was taller with longer hair and she was beautiful and…and…she was _beautiful._ But there was something else too; something that made me cringe with what could only be a sort of melancholic jealousy…._she had no scars._

_If I could have_

"Who…" I managed after some time, "Who _are _you?"

"I think you know," she replied quietly.

She was right, I did know. I just couldn't believe it. _"The voice…"_

"V-," I gulped. My mouth had suddenly gone dry, "Voice?"

"Yes?" That was it. My throat clenched.

This was all too weird.

I doubled over and puked, making a mental note to thank Alex for teaching me how to braid my hair as the contents of my stomach were hurled at the ground.

This was just too _weird_.

The voice gave another agitated sigh before I felt her lift my braid that had been dangling past my head, clasping it in hands made for an angel.

Angel. Why'd I say that? I don't know. Maybe it was instinct; at least, that's what I thought at the time, sorta. I was too busy spilling my guts out on the cold, hard dirt.

Ugh…

Long, agonizing minutes of retching passed while the voice held my braid out of the way of the projectile vomit with a pinched look of disgust painted across her face. Finally, the amount of half digested food began to lessen with each lurch of nausea until there was nothing left in my stomach.

"You done?" she asked. I groaned in reply, despite myself. She let my braided hair drop from her hands and knelt down beside me and began rubbing my back in circular motions. Again, despite myself, I began to relax. After all I'd been through, the simple gesture of someone who was genuinely concerned for me felt good. It was comforting.

"You ok?"

I stared at her. Was it not obvious? I was shaking and paler than I had been before and all I wanted to do was tell her "Hell no!" because I felt like shit, but instead, I let my head droop and nodded with an added grunt. It wasn't the honest truth, but when has the honest truth ever meant anything to the world?

As though reading my mind, she scowled but said nothing as she rose to her feet and brushed herself off. She gave me her hand, yet I declined and shakily stood up on my own. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shake her head.

It was like my brain had entered a wrestling match and got beaten to a pulp. I allowed my own head to droop again and I began to space out, questions running through my mind in no particular order.

"_Is this all a dream? What about my friends? Will I wake up? Will I ever see them again? And who exactly is the 'Voice' anyhow? I mean, what is she?" _Each thought tumbled about in a disorientating mess and it made the whole world spin around me and I swayed, losing my balance slightly.Luckily, I was able to catch myself and I tried to shake off the dizziness, but all it did was make it worse.

"Sure you're ok?" The voice examined me, head tilted, her expression impassive as she looked me over. I gave her a withered look, suddenly feeling totally drained and nodded again.

"Yeah, yeah, I am."

She gave me another once over and then straightened, seeming satisfied. She offered me a lopsided smirk. "You gonna faint?"

I fixed her with a glower, a tense silence following soon after.

"I don't faint." I stated finally, looking away and crossing my arms.

For the third time since I'd gotten here, an uncomfortable span devoid of words ensued. Despite my best efforts to remain confident and unyielding in my stance, prickles of unease began to eat at me.

My tired mind reeled as I tried to think of something to say, hell, to _think_ about, but I couldn't. This would be a good time for the voice to say_ something…_

…but she didn't. She remained as silent as the air around us. If it weren't for the situation, I would've believed the thought that hit me just then was quite random, but again, considering the _situation…_

"_Did…did I upset her?"_

She was only trying to help me. I didn't like her helping me but…but I didn't want her to hate me. I didn't want anyone to hate me.

"_I hope she's not mad."_

"Are you done sulking?" She asked. She spoke in a calming, almost soothing voice laced only with a bit of subtle annoyance, but that didn't stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin. The voice hardly noticed it though as she continued, "Oh and I'm not mad at you."

She chuckled at my reaction. Musta been hilarious. "Are you surprised?"

I spluttered, "Well no, no I'm not surprised you just read my thoughts, not at all."

She laughed. I crossed my arms at my chest, smiling at the fact that I could make this beautiful creature happy. It was funny. I had been in such a bad mood before, yet after spilling pretty much my entire breakfast and lunch onto the ground, I felt much better now, except for that suspicion of being watched tugging at the back of my subconscious.

When she had her laugh, the voice led me away from my mess. I gladly let her, not wanting to stand so near the stench any longer.

I risked a nervous glance over my shoulder as we walked closer to the blackened trees.

"I'm glad to see you've perked up because I need you sober to answer my question." The woman looked around, scanning the area with narrowed eyes. She then placed her hands on my shoulders and leaned in close to me. "This is not a safe place. We do not have much time."

The temperature seemed to drop at her words and the hair on the back of my neck bristled uncomfortably. Remember that feeling of being watched? Well, it was more than just a tug now.

"I can't divulge much," she whispered, "but I can tell you that you are headed to a very dangerous place."

Someone in the real world, should they have somehow, in some way, stumbled upon our conversation, might have thought, "What the hell?", which was exactly what I would have thought, too, if only – _if only_ – the voice had tried saying all this to me beforehand, like, a few minutes ago. However, by now, all logic and reason had left the building and I was still just a bit too tired to search for them – excusing the clichéd description.

Thus, I ran with it…yeah, all seriousness, ran with it.

"Wait," I interrupted, fear blossoming in my chest furthering my discomfort, "What do you mean? How do you know this?"

"That doesn't matter now. I need to know if you want to go."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What?"

"Are you willing to give up your life, your friends, your family, and leave? Start life over again?"

_Just one wish_

"Wh-what?"

"I can take you back if you want."

"…Well," I began, unsure, "I don't want to leave my friends."

"I need more than that." She gave me a good shake. "You have to tell me, between there and your home, where do you want to go?"

I was confused. I was afraid. The sense of being watched had escalated to a feeling of having a bully breathing down my neck as I try to finish his math assignment in time for math class five minutes from now and I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. I'd already realized this couldn't be a dream, because if it was, I wouldn't be wondering if it was a nightmare.

So this was all real. I was really in trouble and I still really didn't know what she was talking about.

"I don't know! I don't know!" I struggled out from under her hands, attempting to back away, but she quickly grabbed my arm. I winced. "What is this place you're talking about? I can't choose if I don't know what I'm choosing!"

"I'm not allowed to tell you where you're headed if you don't make up your mind soon." The voice took a deep breath, suddenly reminding me of Maria, who had a similar habit of using a deep breathing exercise when taking a test. "I _can_ tell you that…I'll admit I wasn't being fair, making your destination sound completely bad, and you will know people there…"

I nodded, boding her to continue.

"Despite the dangers, you can learn to overcome them. The people there can help you. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it. You know those comic books you read, where the characters are always on some sort of adventure?"

I nodded again.

"You will experience much of the same. I warn you though," she said, noticing a glint in my eyes, "these adventures are not all they are cracked up to be.

"Think carefully now. Do you want me to take you back, or would you rather fate follow its course and lead you to this land?"

Her pair of rainy eyes watched mine so intensely; I had to look away, out at the dirty horizon. The terrorizing, unknown presence was now engulfing my body. I was sure the voice could feel whatever it was, too, and most likely wasn't going to wait for me to completely think this through. She had probably expected me to tell her to take me home the first time she offered; however, a spark of excitement was ignited amongst the piles of fear inside my chest. I _had_ been wishing for a bit of adventure…

_I'd wish to_

"_But what of my friends, Mom, Dad? I should tell them if I'm going to be leaving. Maybe I can take them with me!"_

I snapped my gaze back to the Voice's beautiful face, a smile on mine as I opened my mouth to state my question. She didn't grant me the chance.

"No. They cannot come. This is your journey to make and yours alone, and you cannot go back to inform them either," she answered, shaking her head.

I should've known better than to get my hopes up. The Earth felt like it had been pulled away from under my feet, or whatever this place is called had been...never mind.

"Will I," I am kicking myself for asking this, "-will I ever be able to go back if I leave?"

Her reply surprised me. "Yes."

I searched her pretty features for any sign of deceit, but I knew she was not capable of such a sin.

She went on, "It won't be for a long time, but yes, you'll see everyone again."

I stared at her then returned my eyes to the horizon. _"I'll see them again but not for a long time…"_

A wave of fear swept over me without warning. Whatever it was that had been watching me and breathing down my neck was beginning to bear down on me.

I had run out of time.

So I decided.

I grabbed the voice by the arm, clung to her. "Ok, ok, I'll go! To the…uh, y'know, place, whatever! Just-lets get out of here!"

Except she didn't instantly fly me off, she didn't even say some cool phrase like "You will have much to learn, young padawan" or something like that.

Nope.

She stood there.

She stood there and stood there and stood there just looking at the dirt floor which, by the way, made me angry and more agitated than before.

I really, really, really, really, really, really wanted her to move her ass really, really bad.

Then, _then_ she started laughing.

Yes.

Laughing.

"I should've know," she said, "even if I did interfere, you'd still travel God's path, not mine."

I think my eye twitched at the mention of God.

"_Oh, so I'm only special because _God_ says so?"_

Either she wasn't listening or she ignored what I thought because she kept talking without scolding me. "Milord always has a good reason for using the people he does. Who am I to question his awesome judgment?"

"_Use?"_

"_Using _me?" I steamed.

"Don't take what I say the wrong way, Rachel. Milord does not think any of his children mere tools."

"Riiiiiiiight." I rolled my eyes.

She did not smile at my antics nor seem mad at my blatant disregard of her lord. In fact she went from peppy at the start to serious to self-pity all the way to emotionless, similar to a whirlwind.

"Well," she spoke finally and suddenly lifted me up into her arms. I let loose an undignified squeak. "We must hurry. We have tarried long enough." With that, she began running. Wings that had materialized on her back when I wasn't looking propelled her forward, helping her reach an ungodly – or maybe godly is better said – high velocity that sucked the air from my lungs.

"Shit! Holy shit!" I screamed, wrapping my arms around her neck and hanging on for dear life.

"I do not believe Milord would make shit holy."

"Shut up! That's not funny!"

My surroundings were a dizzying blur of brown, black, and lavender. Not for the first time, I wondered how I got myself into such a mess.

"We're almost there!" The voice yelled.

In a matter of seconds, everything came to a screeching halt.

"_I didn't even feel her slow down!"_ I thought incredulously.

My lookalike set me down, allowing me to get a good look at my surroundings. My eyes widened.

"It's the same as where we started!" I turned back to look at the voice. "What are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing," she replied, stepping off to the side so as not to obscure my view. That's when I noticed the darkness steadily overtaking the land and sky, creeping toward us.

"Oh my god," my horrified whisper echoed around the diminishing landscape.

"This is where we drop off." The voice set her hands on her hips, staring down the darkness as if it were simply an unmoving wall. Her wings had disappeared.

"You're kidding me! You can't be serious!"

She turned to me, her eyes more piercing than I'd ever seen them in the short time I'd been in her presence. "Do you think anyone would _not_ be serious right now?"

I was horrified. Glancing back at the approaching black, I couldn't move: the fear was so overwhelming. I wanted to reach for the voice's hand.

On cue, warm hands took mine, held them. I could see the voice in front of me, smiling that reassuring smile. She was so beautiful and amazing, I was in awe.

"How could you read my thoughts?" I questioned her, forgetting the wave of evil about to swallow us.

"It's a special privilege."

"How? What are you?"

"Only I can read your mind because I am your guardian angel." She snickered quietly. "We need to know what our charge is thinking so we can better prevent any harm that may seriously hurt them, although we may only interfere to a certain extent."

"Is that why you offered to take me back?"

"Yes," she whispered as the darkness reached for her. I gasped.

"No!" I squeezed her hands tightly, determined not to lose her. She tightened her hold on me as well. "Don't let go!" I cried.

"Don't worry, I will not leave you." The darkness was slithering up her body, tentacle shadows dancing on her face. "I took an oath to follow you to the ends of the Earth and beyond until your judgment day, and even after that," she grinned, "I'll stay by your side in Heaven."

"How can you be so sure that I'm gonna go to heaven? I don't believe in God!"

My arms up to the elbow were now black and all that remained of the angel was one gorgeous blue eye, but she spoke as calmly as she had at the very beginning. "I know you will."

"Wait! I don't even know your name!"

"I cannot tell you my real name," blue was replaced with black, "but you can call me…"

_Start life over again._

"_**Blood Hand!"**_ An animalistic growl resounded from the darkness, drowning out the angel's answer.

"Aghhhhhh!" I fell back, losing my grip on the voice's hands. "Wh-what!?"

"_**Blood Hand! Blood Hand is my name!"**_ The darkness howled. _**"Remember it girl, because I will be the one to kill you. I will rip you apart!"**_

I tried crawling away, moving my hands and feet like I had so many times in P.E. in the relay races our teacher liked to hold at least once a week. The crab walk she called it.

"Get away from me!" I screamed, but the darkness – Blood Hand – grabbed my legs, pulling me further into his inky depths.

"No!" I thrashed about in his clutches to no avail.

"_**I will enjoy your blood. It will be a feast worthy of a king: me!"**_

I could _feel_ the tentacles feeling their way up my body. It was disgusting, unnatural, so very cold…

"Get them off me! Get them off me! Mmmff!" One of the writhing appendages moved to cover my mouth and my eyes, leaving me off where I first began: falling.

"_**Is that all?"**_

Deep laughter surrounded me, sending a chill down my spine. It was nothing like the angel's.

"_**Weakling!"**_

"_Am I really that bad? I could hardly put up a fight."_

"_**You will never win,"**_ this new voice answered. _**"Your guardian has left you. You are all alone."**_

At such a comment, I normally broke, yet that part of her the angel had left me: it spoke.

_The people there can help you._

"_Maybe it won't be a bad idea to pay a visit to this place the voice was telling me about." _I mused, staring unseeing into the ebon void.

He was lying.

She was somewhere in here with me.

There were others waiting for me.

I wasn't alone.

And I wasn't afraid anymore.

_A second chance…_

* * *

LotusEmpress: Very, very long time, eh? Well I'm at work on chapter 4, so hopefully it'll be up sometime this week.

Until then.


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